


chasing in the dark

by imadetheline



Series: Breathe In, Breathe Out [18]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Explosions, Father-Son Relationship, FebuWhump2021, Gen, Temporary Blindness, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:22:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29818005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imadetheline/pseuds/imadetheline
Summary: febuwhump day eighteen - "i can't see"
Relationships: Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader
Series: Breathe In, Breathe Out [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2140389
Comments: 23
Kudos: 85
Collections: Luke and Vader Bonding, febuwhump 2021





	chasing in the dark

**Author's Note:**

> title from we sink by of monsters and men
> 
> not super happy with this one. it's very generic but oh well

Luke’s not quite sure how he gets himself in these situations. It was supposed to be a simple scouting mission to find possible locations for a new base. But isn’t it always? And then the abandoned building he’d been looking into had collapsed on top of him for seemingly no reason—just his luck.

He groans, blinking away the darkness from the rubble that had knocked him briefly unconscious. Or at least that’s what he assumes happened based on the pounding in the back of his skull. His eyes feel like they’re burning too, though, which is odd. He blinks a few more times. Maybe he got trapped beneath some of the building because it’s still dark, and he knows it was early morning when he landed. He can’t have been out cold for that long.

But the darkness isn’t leaving, and there’s a stinging pain in his eyes. He pushes himself up, his hands catching and scraping against rocks and dirt. Luke blinks more; nothing changes. He can feel the rocks beneath his feet, the dust coating his hands, and the sweat and blood mingling on his forehead as the heat caresses his face. But still, there’s nothing—just blackness.

Something akin to panic floods his veins, and he almost rubs at his eyes before he remembers the blood staining them. He can’t see.  _ He can’t see.  _ Why? Why can’t he  _ see _ ? His fingers clench at his sides, and he tries to keep his breathing steady. He can’t panic; he still needs to find his ship and get off this planet before whatever collapsed the building finds him. It could have been a structural issue, but it also could have been something more sinister. There’s no shortage of people after him.

Luke sucks in another breath, unclenching his prosthetic, and blinks one more time. The darkness doesn’t clear. Okay, it’s fine. He can do this. He just needs to stay calm. 

So he takes a step forward, and immediately, his foot crashes into a rock. Luke freezes, cursing and breathing heavily through his nose as he waits for the pain to fade. The next step he takes is significantly slower, and he takes a few more like that: lifting his foot and probing the air before he sets it down again. But at this rate, it’s going to take him days to reach his ship. Plus, his head is still pounding, and he’s not sure if his loss of eyesight is permanent. So he really needs to leave and hopefully get medical attention as quickly as possible.

And then something sparks in the Force, and Luke curses again and almost facepalms. He’s going to blame the concussion he definitely has for the fact that he’s only just remembered that he has the Force and is somewhat capable of using it.

So he sucks in another breath and stops moving, sinking into the Force, stretching out around him. It’s not quite like being able to see, but it’s something akin to it: with vague swirlings of energy stretching out around him in eddies. The rocks and pieces of the building aren’t alive, so it’s hard to get a clear view without focusing on individual ones, but he’s able to make out where some of the larger ones have landed by the grass and plants crushed beneath them. And slowly, he begins moving again, picking his way through the rubble. His toes are definitely going to be bruised if he makes it out of this.

But then the Force is screaming in his ears and he ducks, rolling on instinct. He feels the heat of a laser as it sings above him where his torso was a few seconds before. His hands are stinging as he grabs at rocks and rubble, trying to pull himself up and away. Now that he’s paying attention, he can sense the presence moving towards him. That seems to answer the question about whether the collapse had been purposeful or not, which doesn’t really help him now. There’s no way he can focus on navigating through the ruins while also trying not to get hit and  escape from whoever’s hunting him--probably a bounty hunter since Luke only senses one presence… which is rapidly moving towards him. Kriff.

He ducks another bolt and feels the blood dripping down his hands as he pushes himself back up from the rocks. Blackness surrounds him on all sides, the Force screaming in his ears as he tries to grasp it, tries to find his way out of the seemingly endless maze. But it dances out of his reach,  _ danger _ echoing in his head. But he’s unable to do anything about it. Luke feels the panic return, a sweeping wave of helplessness as the bounty hunter navigates the columns of stone without the impediment of blindness, slowly moving closer. More blood drips out of his cuts, and he curses the life steadily leaving his body with each drop.

The sudden hole in the Force that appears is so sudden Luke barely has time to blink before he’s reeling. The bounty hunter’s presence is gone, snuffed out like a candle. And so large Luke doesn’t know how he missed it is the sweeping darkness of cold flames surrounding him.  _ Vader _ \--who’s just killed the bounty hunter.

Luke blinks, willing his sight to return, begging the Force for a way out. But it responds with deafening, mocking silence; even the shouts of danger retreat as he pleads with it. No response.

With a curse, Luke hears the heavy footsteps approaching and the crash of rocks as Vader throws stones twice his size out of his way. Luke ignores the stinging pain in his palms, and the deep scratches marring his shins and stumbles over the shifting stones, belatedly trying to raise his shields and spread his presence thin. But he knows it’s too late. He can’t see Vader, but it’s very likely Vader can see him.

“Luke, stop!” The thunderous voice rings out, and Luke stops without thinking at the imperious tone. His brain takes a moment to catch up, fear pounding behind his temples as his body protests movement, but he curses his compliance and begins moving again. He’s not going to listen to  _ Vader _ of all people.

“There is an undetonated explosive in front of you, young one. I doubt you want to set it off.” Luke immediately freezes. Distantly, he recognizes an emotion floating untethered through the Force--amusement; Vader’s amused, kriff him. And Luke has no way of telling if the Sith is lying. He’s trapped. Darth Vader behind him and a bomb in front of him. And if he turns to the side, Vader will catch him in no time.

The footsteps continue moving forward behind him, and Luke feels the beat of his heart echoing in his ears, his whole body paralyzed with terror. He’s tempted to keep walking, to test Vader’s words, but something keeps him rooted to the stone, unseeing and bleeding, the pain only beginning to register.

The cold flames sweep closer, wrapping around him, and finally, after an eternity of waiting, Luke feels a heavy hand land on his shoulder, the respirator echoing in the silence. And some of the tension leaves his shoulders because it’s better than the waiting, better than the paralyzing fear. He’s still afraid, but now he can move, his fingers twitching at his side as blood drips from them. And he’s tempted to use his newfound ability to move to turn and throw the hand off his shoulder, to try to push past the man that claims to be his father, but he doesn’t. Luke just draws in another shaky breath, his eyes burning, and doesn’t try to fight when the hand turns him around.

Leather swipes at his cheek, right below his eye, and he flinches, but the other hand on his shoulder keeps him from falling or escaping. “Your eyes.”

Luke doesn’t know what they look like, doesn’t know what happened, doesn’t know if he’ll ever see again, but the Force echoes with concern in those words, so with a quiet sigh, he admits, “I can’t see.”

Vader doesn’t respond, but the hand doesn’t leave his cheek, and Luke feels emotions clogging his throat in the silence. And then suddenly, “The bombs.”

Luke blinks, and a whispered “What?” escapes him before he realizes he’s spoken.

“The bombs had a gas inside them. My suit’s identified it, but the effects should only be temporary,” Vader rumbles, and Luke’s tempted to think that’s reassurance. Vader could have knocked him out without any trouble, and yet he’s standing here assessing Luke’s injuries and almost comforting him. And Luke is loath to admit it, but the words do ease a curling panic in his stomach. 

“But you need medical treatment.” The hand on his shoulder tightens, and the words bring Luke crashing back to reality, reminding Luke just who the hand belongs to. He’s not leaving here except with Vader.

  
Before, he’d have fought tooth and nail to get away-- _ before, before, before. _ But now he just drops his head, blinking back emotions, and jerks his head in some form of nod, hoping that maybe he’s not imagining the concern behind his father’s shields.

**Author's Note:**

> If you guys liked it leave a comment. They make my day! Seriously I love reading them so please leave me one cause they motivate me to write more! if you guys have ideas for other stories send me an ask on tumblr [here](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/imadetheline) or just yell about stuff with me. Info about me and all my other tumblrs are [here](https://infoabtmaddie.carrd.co/#)


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